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Strawbs - From The Witchwood CD (album) cover

FROM THE WITCHWOOD

Strawbs

 

Prog Folk

4.03 | 293 ratings

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ClemofNazareth
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk Researcher
4 stars The first of five classic Strawbs studio releases, 'From the Witchwood' also marked the beginning of numerous lineup changes for the band as well as the first appearance of Rick Wakeman as an official member of the group (not including their 1970 live release). While he played on 'Dragonfly' his presence there was fairly muted, at least compared to his contributions on 'Witchwood'. Richard Hudson and John Ford also took up places in the group, coming to the Strawbs as a self-contained rhythm section from Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera. String bassist Ron Chesterman was the third band member to depart prior to this release, following in the footsteps of brief tours by the late Sandy Denny and cellist Clair Deniz who appeared on the group's first and third studio efforts, respectively.

Wakeman made an immediate impact as a full-fledged member, serving as the catalyst for their transition from a solidly folk-leaning band to something much more akin to British prog rockers like Jethro Tull (musically) or Gnidrolog (thematically). The organ bleats that launch the opening track "A Glimpse of Heaven" signal a significant shift despite the liberal use otherwise of acoustic instrumentation, harmonized folksy vocals and ethereal lyrical themes throughout the first half of the record. The combination of Dave Cousins banjo and Wakeman's soaring keyboards midway through this song are unlike anything the band had done prior, and must have appealed to their audiences as the album became their first studio Top-40 in the U.K. (as was the prior live release, also prominently featuring Wakeman). Rick would of course bolt the group shortly after the release to take up his place in Yes, but for the time being this was a real heyday for the Strawbs.

As with most Strawbs albums the songs and lyrics are almost exclusively the creation of Cousins. Hudson and Ford contributed three songs ("Thirty Days", "Flight" and "Canon Dale") all of which fit pretty well despite being a bit more somber and electric than most of what Cousins wrote for the group, though the most rocking tune on the album ("Sheep") was in fact a Cousins composition that heavily featured Ford and Hudson's rhythms and Wakeman's varied keyboard contributions including organ, Mellotron and Moog. Cousins also wrote "I'll Carry on Beside You" which comes off as an almost anthematic pub rocker despite the intricate guitar work.

Hudson also introduced his sitar to the band, most notably on his own song "Canon Dale" which gave the band an acid-folk like tune to their credit and likely some ideas about future instrumental experimentation, especially given the surge in popularity for the instrument around the same time.

I personally have a soft spot for "Canon Dale" on this album with it's understated, almost soft-rock mood, and also for the acoustic ballad "In Amongst the Roses" even if it was somewhat of a step backward for the group musically. Cousins certainly understood the strengths of his lineup and leveraged all their skills on this track including Wakeman (piano) without anyone in particular dominating. That sound of course was already falling out of favor in the music industry though, and the band would rapidly move away from acoustic meandering on subsequent releases.

While there are no mega-hits on this record (the only single "Witchwood" was withdrawn due to quality problems), 'From the Witchwood' still represents the most complete and consistent record for the band to this point. Better would come but props must be given for a solid, professional performance and no notable filler. Four stars might be a tad too high but ranked against their first three records (which are all decent) this one needs a bump to distinguish it, so four stars it is and well recommended.

peace

ClemofNazareth | 4/5 |

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